Flushing-tank.



PATBNTED APR. 23, 1907.

u. WILLMS. FLUSHING TANK. APPLIUATON FILED DB0. 19, 190e.

rimnn mm".

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES WILLMS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

Application filed December 19, 1906. Serial No. 348,578.

of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l*`lusl1ing-'l`anks, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly tov the devices for' operating the Hush-valves .of flushing-tanks; and my improvements are especially` adapted for' use in connection with lushing-tanks of the kind shown in my United States Patent No. 838,601, of December 18, 1906.

In low-down flushing-tanks the .ilushvalve is usually operated by means of a handle or push-button located at the lower righthand corner of the tank 5 but .it is ,desirable sometimes to locate the push-button in the upper middle ortion of the front wall of the tank. Accor ng to my present invention I locate the push-button in this way, and I connect the Hush-valve, by means of connecting-rods, with a lever pivoted to a bracket attached to the rear wall ofthe tank, and this lever is provided with' an arm engaged by the push-button. 'lhe arm is preferably made adjustable, and the bracket may also be made adjustable in order to' provide for the proper operation of the {lushinrr-valve. When my improvements are applied to flushing-tanks ofthe kind shown in my (patent before mentionedthat is, a tank ma e of sheet metal and surrounded by a jacket or condensation-collector, also made of sheet metal-it has been found necessary to make certain changes in the construction of the water-containing tank in order to accommodate the valve-operating lever without losing any water-space in the tank.

This I accomplish by forming an opening or fenestrum in the front wall of the water-containing -tank near the upper edge thereof and surround this opening with a casing or hood, which while receiving the arm of the valveoperating lever and permitting the lever to operate freely permits the water in the tank to rise above the opening in the front. wall of the tank, through which the push-button operates and the arm of the lever vibrates.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a flush-tank ofthe general kind shown in my patent above mentioned with my improvements applied. Cerl tain parts are shown in section und parts are broken away in order to bet ter illustrate other parts. big. 2 shows a' transverse section-ol the upper part olv' the tank and its equipments. Fig. 3 shows, on a small scale and in rear elevation, the ilushing-tank illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

lThe water-containing tank A is oll substantially the same construction as that illustrated in my before-mentioned patent, and the jacket or condensation-collector' is also of the same general kind.

arched construction ol' the cover permits the valve-operating mechanism to operate freely as will be apparent from the further description of this invention.

'lhc ball-cock I) and the ilushing-outlet IC are of the kind shown in my patent and also in my application, Serial No. 340,677, iled October 26, 1906.

The details of construction of the couplings and spacing devices and the particular kind of valve herein illustrated are not claimed herein but it will be understood that the` devices which clamp the ball-cock to the watertank and its jacket and those that clamp the valve-seat E to the tank and jacket are adjustable, and there is sometimes some variation in the space between the bottom of the jacket and the bottom of the tank. These features, however, are not claimed herein, but in view 'of these peculiarities certain adjustments of the valve-operating.; mechanism are provided for, which are. herein claimed.

The valve F, which is claimed in my application above mentioned, has a valve-stemf, passing through, a guide j", attached to the front wall of the water-tank, and this valvestem is connected with a rod 1"', in turn con- Fnected with a valve-operating lever G. This lever is ivotally connected with the front end t o a bracket Il, projecting from the rear wall of the tank A. 'lhe'bracket has a downwardly projecting ilanqe Il", formed with open-ended slots It', through which eX- tend screws I, that engage anut or plate I', applied to the front i'ace of the liange. There screws extend through holes in the rear wall of the tank' A, and between the heads of the screws and the tank'are interposed soft washers i and metal washers i.' By means of these devices the bracket is firmly held in l`he cover t) is' arched, as shown'in my patent, and this ICG -adji'lstment y cured to t-he tank before the latter is placed .-inside itsl jacket; but if it is desired to adjust the bracket after the tank has been placed bushing of thel jacket by means of a locking-nut l2, whlch is preferably faced on its rear sidel with place on the bracket may be given any desired vertical Ordinarily the bracket is sewithin its jacket 1t may be readily done,i.nas much as a hole or fenestrum K is formed in lthe rear wall of the jacket opposite the heads of the screws, and a screw-driver may be easily inserted to loosen the screws and permit of the desired adjustment. In this way also by loosening the screws the bracket H may be withdrawn from the tank and replaced therein without removing the screws or\the plate I. In order to insure the' proper movement of the-lever to close-the valve, I preferably weight it at H?.

'l'he push-button L is preferably located in the middlefupper portion of the front Wall of.

the tank. Its' s tem l extends through a l', which is secured to the front Wall 4a washer, of rubber lor other soft material Z3. To the rear end of the st-em of the push-button is secured a convex or rounded buffer L which engages the `downwardly-projecting arm M of the valve-operating lever G.

Opposite the push-button an opening' or fenestrum N is formed inthe front wall of the tank A, which is of sufficient size to permit the arm M of the valve-operating lever to v i' the buffer L to pass in and out and to permit brate. The lower portion of this opening 1s somedistance below the upper edge'of the water-containing tank, and 1f the water were allowed to rise in the tank above this o ening it would flow into the condensation-co lector, which is inadmissible. If the water-level is maintainedv below 'the opening, the capacity of the tank is reduced to arlarge extent,which is undesirable. I therefore provide a casing orl hood O, which is closed at the bottom on opposite sides and at the rear, as clearly s own in the drawings. Y It is open at the top to receive the arm M, ,and itis open opposite vthe fenestrum N. By this device the waterlevel in. the tank may be located near the upper edge of the tankand above the fenestrum. he capacity of the tank is therefore not reduced to any appreciable extent. The hood or casing O may be formed in various ways,

being of such construction and of su'ch size only as to cover orinclose the fenestrum N and yet permit of the proper operation of the push-button and valve-operatlng lever.

The arm M is preferably made of round wire bent at right angles, as shown,.and' it is adjustably secured by a set-screw o to the front end of the valve-operating lever. By the devices shown the arm may b'e adjusted back and forth to vary its length relatively to the pivot of the valve-operating. lever, `and it may be also turned in such manner as toV rear Wall of the tank, and the 'tion is produced.

t e hood, a flush-valve connected with' said lever and a push-button operating through vthe front wall of the tank and engaging t move laterally its lower front end. The ad justment of the arm lengthwise will vary the vertical movement given to the flush-valve F. In this Way the valve may be lifted to any desired extent. This adjustment may be usedin connection with the-adjustment of the bracket H or may be used independently thereof. v Y

It will'be observed that the buffer L is convex 'and engages the rounded end of the arm M. The contacting surface is therefore very small, and a minimum amountof fric- As the push-button is moved back and forth the arm M follows the .v rounded surface of the buffer easily and withv 8c little friction; but sufficient force is alw`a s produced to give proper movement to t e ushing-valve. It is desirable that the arm should contact with the middle portion of the buffer, and by means of the adjusting devices referred tothe arm may be moved laterally or back and forth to bring its lower end into roper relation with the buffer even though 1t may not be in such proper relation when the parts are at first assembled. 9o I ave shown and described the best Way -now known to me of carrying out my invention; but some parts of my invention may be used without the other parts, and some of the mechanism may be differently arranged. I prefer tol locate the bracket for ,supplorting l the flush-valve-operating lever on t e rear wall of the tank, because, among other ad. vantages, I can more easily adjust the bracket when 1t is thus located; but the bracket may be secured eleswhere and yet be within the scope of some parts of my invention.

By employing an arched cover I can locate the valve-operating lever high up in the tank and give proper movement thereto without coming in contact with the cover.

I clairn- 1.' The combination of a water-tank, a f jacket surrounding it butleaving an air-space it and the tank both at the bottom and around the sides, a bracket secured to the rear-.wall of the tank, a flush-valve, a valveoperating lever connected therewith and pivoted to the bracket and having an arm extending downwardly to a position between the tank and -the jacket and a push-button operating through the front Wall of the jacket and engaging said downwardly-projecting arm on the valve-operat ing lever. j i

2. Thecombinaton of a wate r-containing tank having an opening or fene strum in its front wall, a hood or casing surrou nding this opening but open at 'the top, afbracket secured to the rear Wall of the tank, a valveo l'erating lever having an arm ext ending into IOO I'Io

arm ofthe lever in the hood.

`3. The-combination Aof a iush-ta'nk, a [3o top, a bracket attached to the rear wall ofthe tank opposite the fenestruln therein, a valveoperating lever pivotally connected with the bracket, a (lush-valve connected therewith and a lever-arm adjustable both longitudinally and about its axis on the valve-operating leverand which extends down into the hood and a push-button operating through the front wall of the tank engaging said leverarm. v

5. The combination of a Water-containing tank having an opening or fenestrum in itsfront wall a'jacketsurrounding the tank and having a lenestrum in-its rear wall, a hood or casing inclosing the fenestruml in. the front wall ofthe tank, a bracket secured to the rear wall of the tank o posite the opening in the roar wall of the j ac et, a {lush-valve, a valveoperating lever connected therewith and scribed my name.

pivoted to the bracket, and a push-button operating through the front wall of the jacket and engagingthe valve-operating lever.

6. The combination of a Water-tank, a flush-valve, a jacket surrounding the tank and having an opening in itsrear Wall, a

bracket secured to the tank opposite the opening in the rear wall ofthe jacket, a valveoperating ylever connected with the Hushvalve and 'a push-button operating through thc front w all of the tank engaging said lever.

1. 'llu` combination of a Water-tank havlng an opening or fenestrum 1n the upper portion of its front wall,l a hood or casing sur-- yrounding thls openlng, a jacket Surroundlng the tank, a ush-button operating through the front wal of thevj acket, abracket secured to the tank, a flush-valve, and a valve-operating lever pivoted to the bracket and having a'n arm extending into the fencstrum in the front wall of the tank and engaged by the push-button.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto. sub- CHARLES WILLMS.

, Witnesses: l

WILLIAM S. LEVY,

EDWARD S. STANLEY. 

